I have a 2003 sportsman 500, and the carb is leaking badly. It appears to be coming from a small nipple on the bottom of the bowl (about 1/8 inch diameter and 1/4 inch long). I will try to attach a picture. Is this a vent or something? I'm thinking the needle/seat might be leaking or the float is stuck. has anyone seen this? Is there a way to unstick it without removing the carb?

 

can someone help me figure ut how to insert a photo?

 

Sounds like you need a carb kit. Will save a lot of trouble and yes the nipple at the bottom of the bowl is the over flow.If it's leaking it's usually because of a worn or stuck needle and seat.You can try lightly tapping on the carb bowl to see if it helps. If it doesn't, when you tear into the carb might you as well rebuild it. Polaris Carburetor Kits | ATV Parts | MFG Supply Plus plenty of videos on YouTube to help if you along with any problems.
OPT

 

sounds like the floats are stuck. The best thing to do is to remove the carb and take it apart. You may have some junk in the carb that you do not want in there.

 

what do you all get in a carb kit? any idea how much they cost?

 

Click on the above link I posted! Has all the parts needed down to the float bowl gasket! About 22 bucks and you're done with the carb! No sense tinkering with a carb if you have it out and apart! It's not worth the headache if it still leaks after you try to "clean" a carb up or try to adjust float level to stop the drip and you have to pull it off again! Plus these particular carbs have a habit of leaking anyway. It's the way the float assy itself puts pressure on the needle valve seat(to hold in place) when the carb bowl is installed. They leak from worn o-rings, from vibration,etc. Even with new kits some still occasionally do drip a little. The hose at the bottom of the carb needs to be routed to where if it does,fuel drips on the ground not on the engine. OPT

 

Yes, when you post or reply towards the bottom of the page you will see manage attachments. Select that, browse then upload. And then you will have an attached thumbnail.

 

for some reason, my profile does not have the "manage attachments" option listed. Is this only available for people with a higher number of posts?

 

I believe you need 20 posts before you can attach pictures but I may be wrong.

 

I cant seem to find one for a 2003 Polaris Sportsman 500 4x4.

Also, do you think there might be gas in the oil? probably should check to see if the level is high or if it smells like gas. I just changed the oil about a week ago